


It's Ok

by lesbianmezzo



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Arnold is good, M/M, Mcpriceley is just mentioned actually, it's still canon in this tho, kevin is sad, theyre good buddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianmezzo/pseuds/lesbianmezzo
Summary: "Not unusually for the mission hut, there was a soft, muffled crying sound floating around the building. Unusually, it was Arnold who first discovered it."





	It's Ok

Not unusually for the mission hut, there was a soft, muffled crying sound floating around the building. Unusually, it was Arnold who first discovered it. 

When faced with these sorts of situations, Arnold always stayed out of it. He knew he could sometimes 'put his foot in it' and make things worse for whoever was crying, and he also knew that there were people who were much better at comforting people, like Schrader or Connor. However, this time after a minute or so, there didn't seem to be anyone else in the house, nobody came seeking the crier, and Arnold, hating the sound of a sad friend, felt he should do something about it. 

On locating the origin of the sound Arnold realised with horror that it was coming from his room: the sad friend in question was, actually a very particular sad best friend. His heart sank. He hoped something bad hadn't happened. Perhaps he'd had another furious letter from his parents? Although the last one had elicited a more angry reaction rather than upset. Maybe they'd found out about Connor? Or even worse- maybe something had happened between Kevin and Connor... Arnold's heart dropped even further. Connor was a great friend, but if he'd hurt Kevin, Arnold would, if need be, challenge him to a duel in honour of his best friend. Or more likely just give him dirty looks and 'the silent treatment'. Trying to muster up a convincing 'relationships suck and being single is the best thing ever' speech, in which he would have to uncomfortably avoid the subject of him and Naba (tricky, as that was Arnold's favourite topic of conversation), he eased open the door to find Kevin lying face down on the bed, curled up as small as possible and sobbing hopelessly into his pillow. His usually neat, precisely styled brown hair was splayed out at all angles, the hairspray from that morning had given up trying to hold it together, leaving his hair in clumps; his eyes were red; his cheeks were streaked with tears, and his weak form was shaking uncontrollably with each wracking sob. By this point, Arnold's heart had dropped so far that it was probably in Australia. Or wherever was on the other side of the world from Uganda. 

"Oh my gosh- oh my gosh- buddy!" Arnold cried softly, clambering across the beds to where Kevin lay, resting a soothing hand on his back. Kevin's sobs got slightly quieter, and as a few minutes passed, the crying almost stopped altogether. 

"I'm sorry- I'm pathetic-" Kevin hiccuped. 

"What? Of course you're not! Everyone cries sometimes." 

Kevin groaned miserably.

"What's wrong buddy? If it's Connor, I swear I'll-" 

Kevin let out a breath of air. "No! No, Connor and I are fine- he's wonderful. I love him. We're fine." 

"Good. He's a great guy, I didn't want to have to injure him."

A watery grin was the reply. At least Arnold was doing something right.

"Arnold, you couldn't hurt a fly." 

"Don't you underestimate me, Kevin Price." Arnold said, grinning. "Really though, what's wrong?" He quickly backtracked "I mean- you don't have to talk about it-" 

"No- I want to." Kevin sat up, resting his head on Arnold's shoulder, and sighed. "I don't think I'm good enough." 

Arnold gave him a mystified expression. "Are you kidding me? I might be the prophet, but you have amazing skills, plus you're a great friend." 

"Yes- ok- but what are my goals? I want to prove myself to... to... someone, anyone! How am I going to achieve any goals out here in Uganda? I've probably already lost tons of time from wasting time training for my mission- never mind all that time I spent inside doing nothing in 8th Grade... I could have been working towards something actually useful- but now I'm probably going to get back to America and have no home to go to and no money." 

Arnold thought for a moment, letting Kevin's words hang in the silence. 

"Who do you need to prove yourself too?"

Kevin frowned. "Myself? I don't know Arn- All I know is that whatever I do it's not going to make that much of a fucking difference." 

"Whether you're actually making a physical difference or not- it doesn't matter. And I'm not just talking about the villagers. If there's anyone here you've actually made the biggest difference to, it's me. You encourage me to be more confident, and I would definitely not feel as loved without my best friend!" Kevin smiled, and Arnold turned to look at him, and continued. "There's all the others too. You're great when you look after the little kids- they love you! You can sing- At that little performance last month even Mafala said he had to admit you were a good singer!" 

"I suppose so."

"And of course you've made a difference for Connor." He gave Kevin a knowing look.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with this."

"Wrong! Because I am your best friend, and I want to make sure you're ok." 

Kevin smiled. "Nobody has ever really cared about me like that before I came here." 

"Remember that time I sung that lullaby to you? Way, way back in the beginning?" 

"Hard to forget." Kevin mumbled, looking at at Arnold, a small smile beginning to edge across his face.

"I still stand by it- I'm still here for you." 

"And of course, I'm still here for you, if you ever need to talk. You're the best friend I've ever had." 

"I do try." They both sat together, with Kevin resting his head on Arnold's shoulder, and Arnold with his arm around Kevin, nothing more needed to be said, for now, because Kevin was there for Arnold, and Arnold was there for Kevin, and that's how it always would be.

**Author's Note:**

> This angst was bc i was angsty n sad n projecting onto my favourite character hope i translated my fears about the future into the context of the show ok 


End file.
